A city government-owned testing laboratory for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) will be operational next month to help address the pandemic, a health official said Thursday.

Dr. Dulce Amor Miravite, city health officer, said Thursday the PHP20-million laboratory that is being built in Barangay San Roque here can perform 300 tests daily.

Miravite said the construction of the testing laboratory is in line with this city’s aim to trace, test, and treat Covid-19 patients.

She said the laboratory is continuously being assessed by the Department of Health’s (DOH) Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).

Currently, there are two government-owned testing laboratories here: the Department of Agriculture-Zamboanga City Medical Center (DA-ZCMC) and the ZCMC testing laboratories. (PNA)